Osservatorio Balcani Caucaso Transeuropa Says Russia Plans No End to 2022 Invasion

In Russia, the Osservatorio Balcani Caucaso Transeuropa says there is "nessuna traccia" of preparations for the end of the invasion that began in 2022, and it adds that the government’s plan approved "a fine 2024" is based on "una spesa in questo settore crescente per i prossimi tre anni".

“- Published If Vladimir Putin's Russia had an official slogan, what would it be”

BBC

The same analysis says that "circa il 40 per cento delle spese di bilancio" are linked to "esercito e sicurezza nazionale" and that "Quasi quattro milioni" of people are employed in the military-industrial complex.

BBC

It also reports that Russian leadership narratives frame the war as ending only when the goals of the "operazione militare speciale" are reached and when the "radici profonde del conflitto" are addressed, while insisting there is no reference to the idea that territorial objectives like "il pieno controllo delle regioni di Donetsk e Luhansk" would bring a "vittoriosa conclusione della guerra".

In parallel, the BBC reports that Russia’s public line is still uncompromising, quoting Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov saying, "Russia is what it is, and we're not ashamed of showing it," and adding that Nadezhda Babkina told an audience in the Kremlin, "Anyone who doesn't like that," can "go and poison themselves."

Britain’s MI6 chief Blaise Metreweli told an audience in London that Russia is "esportando caos" in modo sistematico e consapevole, and L'Opinione delle Libertà frames her argument as a strategy that will continue until Vladimir Putin is forced to rethink his political and military calculations.

The same source says Metreweli insisted that Russia is operating in a "zona grigia" where there is "Stiamo operando in uno spazio tra pace e guerra," and it lists tools including "cyber attacchicontro infrastrutture critiche" and "campagne di disinformazione".

BFM

Il Giornale adds that Metreweli said "Vladimir Putin sta rallentando gli sforzi per porre fine alla guerra" and that Moscow is "mettendo alla prova l’Occidente" with tactics "appena al di sotto della soglia di guerra".

Les Echos reports that Metreweli’s first speech at MI6 headquarters in Vauxhall, London, argued that support for Ukraine will be "unwavering" and that Putin "dragged out negotiations" to "shift the cost of the conflict onto his own population."

Slate.fr says the Kremlin’s claim of broad domestic support is "beginning to seriously crack," citing a Levada Analytical Center poll in which "only 25%" of respondents say they support continuing the hostilities.

“Per i servizi segreti inglesi “Vladimir Putin sta rallentando gli sforzi per porre fine alla guerra della Russia contro l’Ucraina” e sta “mettendo alla prova l’Occidente con tattiche che sono appena al di sotto della soglia di guerra””

il Giornale

The same article reports that "two-thirds of Russians" view peace negotiations favorably and that a mid-December survey of "1,600" people nationwide found a paradox where "73%" support the country’s armed forces while Putin’s approval falls from "83% in 2023" to "52%".

In parallel, the BBC reports that Putin’s public position on the war is still unwavering, saying he continues to demand that Ukraine cede control to Russia of the entire Donbas region, while noting that an end to fighting looks "as distant as ever".

RFI adds that Putin told Russian media, "I think things are coming to an end, but this remains a serious matter," and it quotes him saying, "We have always built our relations with Europe on the principles of mutual respect and taking interests into account," while warning that the notion of an end is understood as victory, "notably a victory in Donbas."